Ed Wilson

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13 fascinating facts about Ed Wilson:
• I was born at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Mountain Home, Idaho. It cost my parents $7.00. (Just the price of food for my mother at the military hospital.)
• I'm an only child.
• I ran a family popcorn stand on the county courthouse square in Grundy Center, Iowa.
• Listened to WHO Radio every morning before school in Grundy Center. Never thought I would meet and work with the great cornerstones of Iowa broadcasting one day.
• Made it to Iowa State Speech Contest as an 8th grader.
• I was a three-time Iowa All State Choir member.
• In 1980, toured Germany, France, Belgium, England and Holland with the Iowa Youth Choral.
• 1982 Grundy Center High School Senior Class President.
• During college, I was a Baptist youth minister in Conway, Arkansas.
• I have sky dived.
• In 1989, TV 13 anchor, Laurie Groves, introduced me to my wife Angela. (Angela grew up in Marshalltown.)
• Have two children, Faith and Cole.
• While at WHO TV I have lived in West Des Moines, Urbandale and Waukee.
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My grandfather was a meteorologist during WWII. Living in a small town and just a bike ride away from both sets of grandparents was a wonderful gift. It allowed me to grow up with the influence of my extended family. My grandpa Brockway was most special to me. I loved to watch him predict the weather. He was a great prognosticator.

Using the wind, the clouds and observing humidity and temperatures, he could amaze me with his very accurate forecasts. I thought he was the magic weatherman. It sparked my interest in weather and made a huge influence in my decision to become a meteorologist. I still have many of my grandfather’s college text books. They are priceless reminders of my weather heritage.

My first reporting job was with my home town paper. I was a junior in High School and employed by the Grundy Register to report on our wrestling team. I was given the chance to go to follow the Spartans to Des Moines for state championships.

My first job as a forecaster was at KIMT in Mason City. I did weekend weather and reported three days a week for the CBS affiliate.

In September 1988 I was hired as weekend meteorologist and week-day reporter at WHO TV 13 in Des Moines. I soon became the noon and 5 PM meteorologist and co-anchored the Noon show. I have been the Chief Meteorologist for Channel 13 the past 17 years.

Growing up in Iowa and forecasting Iowa weather the last 25 years has given me the first-hand knowledge that is critical in forecasting one of the most diverse climates in the country.

Major storms include:
March Ice Storm 1990 that brought down power lines and left the metro and much of the state without power.

Iowa Blizzards: Over the past 22 years I have forecasted several blizzards that have closed down central Iowa. Both Governor Branstad’s and Culver’s offices have asked for my assistance before closing Interstates and declaring states of emergency. My first major blizzard experience came during the 1973 blizzard that shut down the Grundy Center school system for 2 weeks. (I was in the 5th grade.)

Tornado Outbreaks: Many tornado outbreaks have required me to stay on the air for hours and cover some of the most devastating storms in Iowa’s history.

The Parkersburg tornado that killed 8 people hit just 20 miles from my boyhood home. I was visiting my parents that weekend and drove through the storm to get back to Des Moines and on the air as the tornado moved into northeast Iowa.

I reported on the first F5 tornado that produced wind speeds over 200 miles per hour. It hit Norman, OK in 1993. Our team went to Norman and reported live from that devastation.

Flooding: The major flood of 1993 was one of the most important storms of my career.
WHO TV 13 was covering the Des Moines Grand Prix. This race track included many of the streets in Des Moines.

10 Inches of rain fell in Jefferson, Iowa. The rain came in less than 24 hours and started to run down the Raccoon and Des Moines River basins that feed the confluence of the rivers in Des Moines.

The race cars were driving over the bridges that covered the River in downtown Des Moines. Race officials stopped the Grand Prix when the water was lapping up to the pavement.

I volunteered to stay at the station overnight to keep an eye on the potential flooding. Later that night I was anchoring the story of my life as the city of Des Moines lost its water works and over 250,000 people were told they would not have water by the morning.

I stayed on the air for the first 30 hours. We delivered live reports on one of the biggest stories to ever hit the city of Des Moines. WHO TV stayed on the air, commercial free, through the first week of coverage.

There have been many weather events that have equipped me to be a better meteorologist. I look forward the new strides in weather technology and to the wide weather extremes that WHO HD and Iowa have to offer.

Recent Articles

Skies will be mostly clear tonight with temperatures dropping below freezing again early Wednesday morning. Roads and sidewalks may again re-freeze and be slick in the morning. Wednesday, there will be a few more clouds and it will be slightly cooler. Highs will be in the upper 40s. Clouds will continue to increase Wednesday night. Rain will begin after midnight. A few thunderstorms are possible in southeast Iowa. Rainfall amounts will range from .3″ to .75″ in a few locations. […]

We are still watching the approaching snow moving through the Dakotas and northern Nebraska. There is a mix of light rain and snow. Temperatures are much warmer to the west. That heat will be a part of our forecast very soon. Snow looks to move through the Metro between 5 and 9 AM on Wednesday. Snowfall amounts will range from a dusting to 1″. Skies will clear through the afternoon with highs in the upper 20s. We will go ten […]

Temperatures will remain frigid tonight, although wind chills will not drop as low as they did early Monday morning. We will drop to -9 by early Tuesday. Wind chill values will range from -10 to -20 through Tuesday morning. Tuesday afternoon, teens will return under mostly sunny skies. We will continue to be on the upswing through the end of the week. We will reach the 30s Wednesday and Thursday. With the warm up comes a chance for light snow […]

Light snow will move through the state Saturday morning. It will be a fast moving and very weak system. Expect 1″ to 2″ of total snow accumulation in Des Moines. It will be warmer tomorrow. Highs will be in the middle 20s. Much colder temperatures are back Sunday and Monday.

It will be clear and cold again tonight. The wind will not play a major factor in wind chills. Sunny skies return tomorrow. We stay very cold for this time of the year. Highs will be in the teens. The next chance for snow moves our way late Friday night and early Saturday. Expect around an inch of snow in Des Moines by Saturday afternoon. Highs will warm to the 20s on Saturday…but back to 10 for a high on […]

It will be very cold tonight. Lows will fall to -12. The wind will not be as strong but we will still have dangerous wind chills of -25 to -30. It will be dry through the next couple days. Highs will be in the single digits until we hit the teens on Friday. There is a chance for light snow late Friday night to Saturday morning. Right now it looks like 2″ to 3″ totals. Weather Fact of the Day: […]

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY remains in effect from 6PM this evening to 6PM Saturday for the southern half of the state. Most of the snow from this storm will fall over southeastern Iowa. There will be a chance for 2 to 3 inches of snow over Des Moines, but much heavier amounts of snow over the southern counties of Iowa. They could have 4 to 6 inches of snow by Saturday evening. Timing of this storm will be early tomorrow […]

More snow is on the way. We will see the best chance for measurable snow late Friday night through mid-day Saturday. Friday will be cool, highs in the lower 20s. It will be mostly cloudy, The snow will start to pile up over the southern 1/2 of Iowa early Saturday morning. We are expecting 2 to 3 inches of snow over the metro…up to 5 inches of snow along the Iowa/Missouri border. The snow will end by Saturday afternoon. It […]

Clear and cold will be theme for the overnight and tomorrow. Lows will fall to -7 tonight. The wind chills will be in the -15 to -20 degree range. Tomorrow will still be cold. Highs will only reach the middle teens. Warmer temperatures return on Wednesday. The next chance for snow will arrive Thursday. There is a chance for measurable snow Thursday morning.

Dangerous wind chills are back tonight. We could see -25 to -35 wind chill temperatures over Des Moines. -35 to -50 degree wind chills are expected north of Highway 30. We will have another sub-zero night Wednesday through early Thursday morning. Wind Chill Advisories and Warnings go in effect at 6 PM tonight through noon on Thursday. The Wind Chill Warning is for northern Iowa where wind chills will drop to -30 to -40. The Wind Chill Advisory is for […]

Snow and blowing snow is causing slow travel. The snow is light but the wind has increased to 35 mph. Visibilities are low. Roads over the state are getting worse. The winds will become gusty so where the snow falls, blowing and drifting of snow will reduce visibilities. Winds will be from the northwest at 15 to 25 mph. Temperatures will plummet to near zero by early Tuesday morning. Temperatures will not be able to recover and will stay in […]

A clear start to the night. We will see steady temperatures overnight. The wind will start to pick up again by early Saturday. There will also be a chance for snow by early Saturday. The wind will be gusty through the day Saturday and snow will accumulate. There is a WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY in effect for much of central and northern Iowa starting at 10AM and continuing through 6PM Saturday. There is also a WIND ADVISORY in effect for southern […]